VIDEO: Rep. Chris Gibson: Gun control law will be deemed unconstitutional

By Kyle Wind

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

KINGSTON -- U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson expects the U.S. Supreme Court will deem New York's new gun control law is unconstitutional and does not support a federal gun control law proposed by U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, he said on Wednesday.

Citing the 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller and the 2010 decision in McDonald v. Chicago, Gibson said during a meeting with the Freeman editorial board that the "Supreme Court has held you can regulate, but you can't ban."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office describes the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act as "the most comprehensive gun laws in the nation" and says the law "will keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous mental health patients and ban high-capacity magazines and assault weapons."

The law proposed by Feinstein, D-Calif., meanwhile, would reinstitute and expand a U.S. ban on assault rifles that expired in 2004 and would ban ammunition clips that hold more than 10 rounds. Gibson, R-Kinderhook, describing gun rights as "a very emotional issue" in the aftermath of last month's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, said his read on recent Supreme Court decisions is that the SAFE Act won't hold up.

"One thing we all agree on is we were deeply saddened and outraged by what happened in Sandy Hook -- unthinkable, unimaginable violence," Gibson said. "What could explain how a young man (20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza) could do such a heinous thing? And to me, I think that what is really necessary now is to look at the soul and the way that we treat each other, how well we support each other, what are the means that we can support each other, what are the individual responsibilities, what are the parent responsibilities here, what might be the government responsibilities here. Because just like everyone is outraged by what happened at Sandy Hook, I would think that just about everyone believes that criminals and the severely mentally ill should not have access to weapons either."

Gibson said addressing gun violence without violating people's Second Amendment rights needs to be a thoughtful process, unlike the one that led to New York state's law, which he described as "not deliberative." The second-term congressman said he has met with the Democrat-controlled Schoharie County Board of Supervisors, which opposed the new state law, and its members told him most people who need mental health assistance are on Medicaid, which is only accessible through county mental health departments.

The result is "incredibly long" lines that "frustrate people," Gibson said. "Is there something we can do," he asked, "to change how Medicaid pays out so that it can be more supportive for mental health; so that not only individuals who feel that they want pursue greater and expanded mental health, but also parents" can access it? One approach Gibson said he does not support is expanded registration and tracking of guns. He cited privacy concerns.

Gibson, however, said he would support "an examination of how well background checks are doing" in achieving the goals of keeping guns out of the hands of mentally ill people and criminals.Another controversial topic Gibson discussed on Wednesday was global climate change. "We live in an area ... (where) we had three 500-year floods in six years," Gibson said. "We clearly are going through changing weather patterns, so let's recognize that, and let's prepare going forward."

The congressman said he does not believe the region is prepared for another 500-year flood, though he said preparations have been improving.

Gibson said he does think that, over time, human activity has contributed to climate change, and he is trying to organize residents from the 19th Congressional District, from which New York City gets much of its drinking water, to speak with one voice on the topic.

Gibson also said it is important to continue to develop renewable energy sources, but at the same time, when families are struggling to pay the bills, it is also necessary to drive down the costs of current fossil fuel technology on which families rely.